by
Gus Moorhead
By
the Ol' Coach
with the help of his wife
FAMILY
MATTERS: The Ol' Coach continues
to improve in his physical therapy
at Margaret Mary Outpatient Rehab
Center in Batesville. Both he
and his therapist Brian believe
at some point he is going to
be able to walk again, perhaps
with the help of a walker. Brian
has him trying several new procedures
to get his feet moving as they
should, and the Ol' Coach looks
forward to his three-a-week workouts
in that very nice and well-equipped
facility.
Gus
and Brian always talk sports,
especially since Brian's dad
was playing basketball for Batesville
during the early days Gus was
coaching at Versailles. The latest
news they shared is that Brian's
dad's coach was Eddie Roth, a
teammate of the Ol' Coach's at
Hanover. We remember when he
coached at Batesville; he and
his wife Norma are still good
friends of ours. Both are from
New Albany, where they are now
retired.
MORE
MOORHEAD NEWS: Our daughter Mary
Helen, who prefers to be called
Molly, is making a job change
in the next couple of weeks.
She has signed a contract with
the Loveland School Board to
be principal of Loveland High
School and leaves the Princeton
City Schools after having served
as high school vocal music teacher,
high school assistant principal
for five years, and middle school
principal for the past four years.
She
leaves lots of friends at Princeton
Middle School, but this was a
career advancement for her and
will place her only eight miles
from a new condo she has purchased
near Kings Island. Mary Helen's
secretary had a surprise going-away
reception for her last Wednesday a
bittersweet time for her, but
a chance to say goodbye to her
staff.
We
are grateful for her professional
progress and for the fact that
she will be able to continue
her work as an adjunct professor
at Miami University. She is a
good administrator, as well as
a good teacher, and works well
with both students and staff.
CHRIS
LEAVES FOR DENVER: Sunday, July
24, was our grandson Chris Byrdwell's
birthday and also the day for
him to fly to Denver for his
work at the Denver Broncos' training
camp. He will be there for six
weeks and will help the Broncos'
training staff in whatever ways
they require. It's really a good
deal for him. He gets all his
expenses paid plus $250 per week.
The
last time we saw Chris, he was
getting very nervous about the
experience. He wants to do everything
right and is excited about working
with professional football players.
His mentor at UK Head Athletic
Trainer Mattelino - has given
him many pep talks about working
his tail off, doing everything
he's asked and more, and making
himself a valuable part of the
training program for the Broncos.
We will be eager to hear all
his stories when he returns in
September.
MAJOR
LEAGUE BASEBALL ANNOUNCERS: One
day this week The Indianapolis
Star had an interesting story
on the front of the sports page
on the profession of radio announcers
for major league baseball games.
According to the article, "the
minor leagues have long been
a free-flowing pipeline to the
majors for players, managers,
and umpires. But for radio announcers,
the rate of promotion moves much
slower and at times creeps to
a halt."
" With
30 major league franchises providing
roughly two radio jobs apiece,
competition is fierce and opportunities
are scarce."
Most
of us know that once a team's
announcer is entrenched at the
top, he just doesn't leave; he
holds on as long as he can. Proof
of that was a list of the longest
current tenured major league
baseball broadcasters. At the
top is Vin Scully, who has been
with the LA Dodgers for 56 years;
he's followed by Herb Carmeal,
who has been at Minnesota for
44 years. Next is Denny Matthews
with Kansas City for 37 years;Bob
Uecker, who has announced for
Milwaukee for 35 years; Harry
Kalas with Philadephia and Mike
Shaoon with St. Louis, both for
34 years.
The
Reds' own Marty Brennaman has
broadcast for the Cincinnati
Reds for 31 years. We still miss "Hamilton
Joe the Old Lefthander," who
broadcast Reds' games even before
Marty Brenneman and has "rounded
third and headed for home." He
does do a game now and then,
but has retired from most of
the road trips.
BROWN
WITH THE KNICKS? Since we last
wrote about Pistons' coach Larry
Brown, the Pistons gave him his
walking papers, and less than
a day after, they hired former
Minnesota Timberwolves coach
Flip Saunders to take Brown's
place. This is the third time
in four years the Pistons have
hired a new coach.
According
to information from the media,
Saunders had turned down an offer
by the Milwaukee Bucks and took
his name out of the running for
other openings, waiting for the
Pistons' job to open.
Meanwhile,
Brown is being courted by the
New York Knicks. He has met with
Knicks president Isiah Thomas,
and by the time this goes to
press, the deal will be set,
we imagine. Thomas has made no
secret of the fact that he really
wants to hire Brown, who would
be coaching his eighth NBA team
if he accepts the job. The New
York Daily News reported that
the Knicks were prepared to offer
Brown as much as $60 million
over five years.
Since
he is a native New Yorker, Brown
won't be hard to convince that
he should settle down at Madison
Square Garden and maybe
stay awhile!
REDS TRADE RANDA: I am pretty upset at the Cincinnati Reds for
trading Joe Randa, my favorite player on this year's roster. It
was probably a really good move for him since the San Diego Padres
are in first place in their division, and he will get the opportunity
to participate in the playoffs. In my opinion, he played his position
well and could be counted on for hits when they were needed. He
was pleasant to watch always seemed to be smiling and
I am sorry to see him go.
INTERESTING
QUOTE: As we watched the Nightly
News the other night, Brian Williams
did a segment on a speech retiring
Supreme Court Justice Sandra
Day O'Conner had made. She ended
by reading what she said was
her favorite poem: "No Indispensable
Man," only she changed the
last line to "No Indispensable
Woman." The Ol' Coach learned
that poem from his mentor Dutch
Struck and has recited it to
his students, players, and during
speeches he has made over the
years. It is clearly one of his
favorites. It begins, "Put
your hand in a bucket of water" It
has great lines and rhythm, but
is too long to use here. The
idea is that everyone can be
replaced no one is indispensable.
We were both excited to hear
a famous person like Sandra Day
O'Conner repeat a poem that has
long been part of our lives.
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